Police Arrest Suspect In Connection To Homicide On Fairfax Court

Police Arrest Suspect In Connection To Homicide On Fairfax Court

ST. LOUIS, MO. (KTVI) – St. Louis police believe they’ve found the man who shot and killed a Chesterfield man in north city Thursday night. But it took a SWAT team and the closure of about five city blocks to bring him in. Officers shut down several blocks of 20th Street west of Grand Friday for more than two hours. Along the street was a home where they believed the killer was inside.

The night before, on East Fairfax Ct., 20 year old Deondre Elem was shot in killed in what officers are calling a botched robbery. His car was stolen by the suspect.

That car was located on 20th Street Friday, leading police to the home.

But there was some difficulty in conducting the raid. Officers say there were more than a dozen people inside, including some small children, which made going in and getting their man all the more challenging.

“It takes it to a completely different level,” St. Louis Police Captain Michael Sack said. “It’s one thing to have a suspect inside a residence by himself. At this point you know you’re only endangering the officers that might go in and try to take that person into custody and the suspect. If there are other people in that residence then those people are not put in jeopardy by the behavior of the suspect.”

Everyone in the home was detained and questioned Friday night. Police remained tight lipped about the circumstances leading up to the killing. They wouldn’t say if the suspect and victim knew one another.